Resurrection
by Fishy Biscuits
Summary: Oneshot. Chlorr is defeated at the Battle of Roble's Town, but Hedge decides to bring her back... but why, exactly? Implied Hedge/Chlorr. The title's kinda rubbish, but I had to come up with one quickly...


_Written for The Shoppe's OKT Rarefics Challenge. This didn't turn out quite how I was intending, but never mind. This was kinda hard to write, seeing as neither Hedge or Chlorr are particularly romantic people (hence only the implied pairing). Anyway, hopefully it isn't all that bad, but feel free to give honest feedback. :-)_

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Hedge was not pleased. Chlorr was supposed to have completely destroyed Roble's Town more than a week ago, taking all that the place had – including the lives of its inhabitants. And yet, as Hedge stood on a low, wooded hill that overlooked the town, he could see that it was still standing. Yes, there was evidence that a battle had taken place there, and it was plain to see that the town had not come out of it unscathed, but it was also clear that Chlorr had failed. The bodies her Dead Hands had used lay in smoking, burnt piles just outside the town's walls, and there were many surviving people busily repairing the damage that Chlorr had managed to do.

Worse than losing this battle, Chlorr had also failed to tell Hedge anything of this defeat. He had found out about it himself when he crossed back into the Old Kingdom to see if everything had been going according to the Destroyer's plans. Rumours of a battle at Roble's Town were flying around the southern parts of the Kingdom, all of them making it obvious that the Abhorsen's interference had saved the town from total destruction.

Scowling at the thought of the Abhorsen, Hedge turned away from the recovering town and started heading west. His master would be furious with Chlorr and, since she had evidently gone into hiding, it was now Hedge's job to inform the Destroyer of this failure, and that was not something Hedge was looking forward to. As he walked, he busied himself with thinking up the best way to explain this situation – one that would, hopefully, not anger his master too much. He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he did not notice the bronze mask until he almost tripped on it.

For a moment, he just stared down at the mask, as if he was unable to register what he was seeing. Then, he bent down and slowly brushed the dry leaves and dirt off it with one hand. It was, unquestionably, the one that Chlorr had worn, and Hedge felt that there had been a death here. That made it all too clear as to what had happened; why Chlorr had not told him about her defeat. She had not hidden after the battle. She had been killed. The Abhorsen must have caught her and banished her far into Death, and Hedge realised that he must have underestimated that damned woman.

Still, he knew Chlorr would not have given up without a fight. She may not have been as strong as Hedge was, but she did seem to have a certain knack for resisting Death, and there was something about that mask... some presence that Hedge could sense, but not fully identify. Perhaps she would still be resisting the pull of the river, Hedge thought, feeling some semblance of Chlorr in that lingering presence. Perhaps she was not completely lost after all. Perhaps she could be brought back...

Making sure he was well-hidden, Hedge prepared to enter Death, casting Free Magic spells over his entire body to protect him from any roaming Dead that might find him. For a moment, he wondered why he was so determined to find Chlorr's spirit; after all, she had failed, and neither Hedge nor the Destroyer had time for failures, but for some reason he just couldn't walk away. With a last glance at the mask, Hedge slipped over the border with Life and found himself in the icy river of Death.

He made his way swiftly through the First Gate, then the Second, and then the Third. He already knew that Chlorr's spirit would not be in these earlier precincts. The Abhorsen was, unfortunately, not stupid enough to expect her victims to take themselves to the Ninth Gate, but it was possible that she had only made Chlorr walk to the Sixth or Seventh. After all, she must have been tired after banishing all of the Dead Hands Chlorr had had. Hedge passed through the Fourth and Fifth Gates without finding Chlorr's spirit. He found several lesser spirits, but he ignored them as he waded through the river and on through the Sixth Gate, and into the Seventh Precinct.

As soon as he entered this section of the river, he knew Chlorr was there. He could just see a shape of complete darkness, crouched in water as if was waiting for something, and Hedge quickly matched the feel of this creature's presence to the one he had felt around the mask in Life. He walked closer, moving at a slightly slower pace. One hand went to the bandolier of bells he wore across his chest and carefully drew out Saraneth, just in case Chlorr decided to try and attack him. She was probably waiting for a life to take, he thought to himself. Chlorr's spirit appeared quiescent at first, but Hedge could tell that she was ready to pounce, like a lion waiting for its prey to get too close.

When he was still a reasonable distance away, Hedge stopped. 'Clariel,' he said simply, calling Chlorr by the name that she no longer used.

'Hedge,' Chlorr answered, equally flatly, her voice only slightly different to how it had sounded in Life.

'I see I was correct in thinking that you had not passed the final Gate,' Hedge stated, managing to hide his surprise at how quickly she had recognised him. Usually, a Dead spirit that had been forced this far into Death had few of its living memories with it.

'You were,' Chlorr replied. 'That fool of a woman only walked me to the Sixth Gate. It was only a matter of time before I managed to break free of Saraneth's hold.'

'You will go back to Life now, and continue your work,' Hedge continued. Now it was clear that Chlorr did not intend to attack him, he replaced Saraneth. Instead, he drew out Mosrael, the Waker; one of the most useful bells, he had found. He considered using Saraneth as well, but then decided against it. Chlorr was already a servant of the Destroyer. It would command her. And Hedge had more work to do in Ancelstierre. It would not be practical to have Chlorr as his own servant as well.

'I will,' Chlorr answered, seemingly a little surprised at Hedge's decision to not use Saraneth. Hedge was, much like their master, very fond of dominating others, and it was unusual for him to not use the two bells together. She was about the question his actions, but then thought better of it.

Hedge swung Mosrael, and the raucous sound filled Chlorr's mind, sounding like hundreds of screams of triumph. Chlorr moved forwards, getting closer and closer to the Sixth Gate, whilst Hedge walked the other way. As they passed each other, they locked eyes and Chlorr nodded her dark head; the only sign of gratitude she let Hedge see.

The first thing Chlorr saw when she emerged back into Life was the mask she remembered wearing while she was still alive. Without much thought, she moved closer to it, assuming a human-like shape with her dark, fluid form. She was secretly ashamed of her defeat, and the fewer who knew about it, the better. She wanted to make herself look as she had done before, at least on the outside. Using her vague memories of what she had previously looked like, Chlorr began to create a Free Magic construct that she could wear.

It did not take her long, and her hands, now covered with the semblance of silk gloves and bone rings, soon reached out to pick up the bronze mask and fit it back into place. Then, she straightened up and examined her surroundings, her senses searching for any human lives that might be near, her hunger for life almost overwhelming.

It was then that Chlorr noticed Hedge, standing like an oddly-placed, frozen statue amongst the trees. She could sense his life; the life she so desperately wanted. His spirit was still in Death, and so he could not defend himself against her, even with the Free Magic spells he had protected himself with before he had entered Death. He would be an easy target, and would give her a considerable amount of power. She stepped towards him slowly, thinking only of the life she could consume; the life she had lost.

Then, she stopped. Hedge was the reason she was back in Life. He had brought her back. She suddenly felt strange; it did not seem right to take his life. He could have bound her spirit with Saraneth, but he had not. He could have left her in Death, but he had not. He could have stayed in Ancelstierre and not had anything to do with this, but he had not. Why, Chlorr assumed she would never know, but it was possibly the same thing that stopped her killing him now.

With an enormous effort of will, Chlorr turned away from Hedge's motionless form and snatched a passing squirrel to keep her hunger at bay for a short time. She was one of the Greater Dead now, and she could feed wherever she wanted. Only the Abhorsen would dare stand in her way, and that would only happen if Chlorr made herself obvious. She knew enough about the Old Kingdom to know where it would be easiest to take lives inconspicuously. She did not need to take Hedge's life.

She had only taken a few steps away from Hedge when she heard the sound of ice cracking. She turned back again and saw Hedge's eyes open and the frost fall away from him in small, glass-like shards. He saw her immediately, but his face was expressionless as Chlorr's mask. He had always been like that, Chlorr thought. He never gave his emotions away, unless he was about to kill an enemy or was angry about something. That was just the way he was.

'Remember your orders,' said Hedge firmly. 'And you might want to explain to our master about the... mess here.'

Then he was gone, walking back down the hill without waiting for an answer. Chlorr watched him go, resisting the strange urge she had to follow him and walk beside him. Hedge was not the sort of man who would appreciate behaviour like that. Yes, he had brought her back, and as a Greater Dead spirit rather than a stupid, servile Hand, but that didn't necessarily mean anything. He had probably only brought her back so she could continue to carry out the parts of the Destroyer's plan that had been assigned to her, not for any other reason. And even if there was another, deeper reason for his actions, Hedge would never admit to it.

The sound of distant voices interrupted Chlorr's thoughts. Living people were coming closer; people full of the life she so desperately needed. Abandoning all speculation about Hedge, Chlorr thinned her body and hid herself behind a tree trunk, waiting for her unknowing victims to move close enough for her to make quick and easy kills. She would consume these lives, grow stronger from them, and then maybe she would dare to tell the Destroyer of her failure at Roble's Town. She grimaced at the thought of her master's reaction when It heard, if It hadn't heard about it already. Perhaps Hedge had not acted out of compassion after all...

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_Yeah, as I said, only an implied pairing. No soppy stuff going on between them, I'm afraid! They're just not soppy characters!_

_Please review!_


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